Leftover Turkey Casserole With Rice (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

If you have a leftovers hater in your life, this is the dish for you! This delicious and easy recipe for Leftover Turkey Casserole With Rice is a beyond simple way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. A healthy dish that creates a completely new and exciting dinner that the whole family will love.

Calling this a recipe would be like calling the scribbles my toddler makes “art”. This is more of a loose guideline on how to kick dinner’s butt and use up a bunch of odds and ends from a big holiday meal. No fridge full of leftovers? I got you covered; see the recipe notes.

Can I tell you the best part of making this for dinner? Can I? Please? You use one dish. One. There is no mixing, no sauteing, no nothin’. Just one dish, a cozy blanket of foil, annnnnnnnnnd yah bake it.

What Can You Do With Leftover Turkey?

I think the appropriate answer is “what can’t you do with leftover turkey”? There is turkey ala king (A Christmas Story), turkey tacos, or turkey sandwiches with the moist maker (Ross from Friends).

What Ingredients Are In Leftover Turkey Casserole?

We’re rocking:

Rice

leftover turkey (doy)

frozen corn

a can of black beans

onion

celery

salsa

cheese (if you want it)

I have made this Leftover Turkey Casserole With Rice multiple times and each time the ingredients vary depending on what is in my fridge. I have used cooked turkey after Thanksgiving and even raw chicken breasts that I nestled in the rice. Nestled.

I like to use chopped celery and onion with frozen corn, but any veggies you have kicking around your fridge will work great! You can even sub in cauliflower, quinoa, or cauliflower rice for the rice.

You can use a can of black beans for this, or try homemade if you want to save a boatload of cash. Every few months, I make a huge batch of black beans in my Instant Pot using this recipe. I freeze the beans in mason jars for homemade soups, side dishes, and recipes just like this.

Where Do You Get Affordable Organic Free-Range Turkey?

I’m blessed that we have a local butcher for buying organic meat, but we also have a monthly Butcher Box subscription. Butcher Box sources only organic and free-range meat for their customers and ships them to your home once a month.

The meat is super high-quality and we’ve always had an amazing selection sent each month. In addition to what they pick for you, you’re able to add specific cuts and types of meat to your box. They even have Whole30 compliant bacon!

Even with our local source, we still look forward to our monthly Butcher Box delivery.

How to Make Leftover Turkey Casserole With Rice

Place rice in the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish or 9-inch pie plate. Add the onion, celery, turkey, corn, and beans.

Pour the enchiladas sauce/salsa over the top of the dish. Use a fork to make sure all the rice is covered by the liquid.

Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover, add the cheese (if using) and bake other 5 minutes or until cheese is melty.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

For the salsa, I recommend something thin without too many chunks. Think like enchiladas sauce or a salsa verde (like I used).

No leftover turkey? Feel free to use leftover chicken, shredded rotisserie chicken, or even raw chicken breasts. If you use raw meat, the bake time remains the same. The length of cooking time is for cooking the rice, but all the meat will be cooked through and tender thanks to the salsa.

Place rice in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Add the onion, celery, turkey, corn, and beans.

Pour the enchiladas sauce over the top of the dish. Use a fork to make sure all the rice is covered by the liquid.

Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover, add the cheese and bake other 5 minutes.

Top with hot sauce, cilantro, sour cream, or your toppings of choice.

Recipe Notes

For the salsa, I recommend something thin without too many chunks. Think like enchiladas sauce or a salsa verde (like I used).

No leftover turkey? Feel free to use leftover chicken, shredded rotisserie chicken, or even raw chicken breasts. If you use raw meat, the bake time remains the same. The length of cooking time is to cook the rice, but all the meat will be cooked through and tender thanks to the salsa.

Nutrition Facts

Leftover Turkey Casserole (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 197Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g5%

Cholesterol 25mg8%

Sodium 374mg16%

Potassium 334mg10%

Total Carbohydrates 27g9%

Dietary Fiber 3g12%

Sugars 3g

Protein 11g22%

Vitamin A8%

Vitamin C3.3%

Calcium5%

Iron5.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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This recipe was originally published in November 2017. It has been retested and updated with reader feedback. New photos have been added and directions have been clarified.

It is the rice that needs the long cooking time, not the meat. If you use cooked meat, it stays juicy (I won’t use the “m” word) because of the sauce. If you use raw chicken it finishes cooking before the rice but doesn’t dry out because of the sauce.

Hi. This was nice the first time I made it and I made another version of it last night. I did about half rice (I had a mixture of white, brown & quinoa) and half chopped and lightly steamed cauliflower to up the veggie content. I added in some Greek yogurt and spices and omitted the celery (cause cooked celery 🙁 and the corn (didn’t have any). And served it with avocado chunks, more Greek yogurt and fresh salsa. Delish.